Researchers from the Federal Institute of Goiás (IFG) Goiânia Campus are developing a study that uses RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System), or better known as a drone, to collect georeferenced data on a soybean field in Goianápolis (GO). In the research, the drone developed by xmobots®, Arator 5A, which was acquired by Campus Goiânia, contributes to mapping the relief, monitoring the soybean crop and locating areas with erosion problems.
The research, which is part of the Institutional Scientific Initiation Scholarship Program (PIBIC), is supervised by IFG professor Maxwell de Oliveira Rabelo, with the collaboration of professor João Cortês, technician Leomar Rufino and the participation of João Pedro de Sousa Costa, a Cartographic and Surveying Engineering student at the Goiânia Campus.
The study began in November 2017 and is still ongoing. It aims to apply the drone to the development of precision agriculture. In other words, a management system that combines advanced technology to optimize agricultural cultivation.
According to Rabelo, professor and coordinator of the research, the objectives of the study are to analyze the erosion sites in the soybean fields. And also to identify the direction of the planting lines on the land and the path of the machinery used. All this in order to control the problem of erosion in future plantings and optimize the use of machinery.
Image captured by the drone in January this year, showing areas with planting failures in the soybean crop.
Professor Maxwell explains the benefits of using drones in agriculture: Planning the agricultural area, taking into account variations in the terrain and the localized sizing of soil conservation practices, helps control soil erosion, reduces the loss of nutrients and consequently the contamination of rivers. It also reduces the time needed for mechanized operations and fuel consumption, thus helping to protect the environment.
Studying the factors that interfere with crop development also allows for localized control of production factors. This increases productivity and reduces costs for the farmer.
Authorization for the use of drones to georeference rural properties is recent in Brazil. It was validated in February this year by the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra), as Professor João Cortês explains. In the study, the IFG researchers decided to analyze the application of a drone in soybean cultivation, as it is a fast-cycle crop, around 90 days, compared to corn or sugar cane, for example, which require more time to cultivate. To this end, the researchers managed to secure a partnership to carry out the study on a private rural property in Goianápolis (GO), near Goiânia.
The use of drones in agriculture benefits the rural producer by providing greater precision, agility and efficiency in mapping the conditions of cultivation on the rural property, as Professor João Cortês points out.The producer has an overview of his production, and the processing of the data obtained from the drone flights is fast, taking a maximum of two hours. Often, drones don't need to be applied to the entire property, but simply to a specific location. And this ends up minimizing the cost for the producer.
According to the researchers, the study is expected to be completed in August. The results will then be submitted for publication in scientific journals, academic conferences and made available to farmers and rural extension professionals. In this way, the procedures studied can be used to plan agricultural areas for the 2018/2019 harvest.
Source: IFG